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The Last Days of Antiochus Epiphanes

6King Antiochus was going through the upper provinces when he heard that Elymais in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold. ²Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian king who first reigned over the Greeks. ³So he came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not because his plan had become known to the citizens ⁴and they withstood him in battle. So he fled and in great disappointment left there to return to Babylon.

5 Then someone came to him in Persia and reported that the armies that had gone into the land of Judah had been routed; ⁶that Lysias had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before the Jews;^* that the Jews^* had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant spoils that they had taken from the armies they had cut down; ⁷that they had torn down the abomination that he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as before, and also Beth-zur, his town.

8 When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from disappointment, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. ⁹He lay there for many days, because deep disappointment continually gripped him, and he realized that he was dying. ¹⁰So he called all his Friends and said to them, ‘Sleep has departed from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry. ¹¹I said to myself, “To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power.” ¹²But now I remember the wrong I did in Jerusalem. I seized all its vessels of silver and gold, and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason. ¹³I know that it is because of this that these misfortunes have come upon me; here I am, perishing of bitter disappointment in a strange land.’

14 Then he called for Philip, one of his Friends, and made him ruler over all his kingdom. ¹⁵He gave him the crown and his robe and the signet, so that he might guide his son Antiochus and bring him up to be king. ¹⁶Thus King Antiochus died there in the one hundred and forty-ninth year.^{* 17}When Lysias learned that the king was dead, he set up Antiochus the king’s^* son to reign. Lysias^* had brought him up from boyhood; he named him Eupator.

Renewed Attacks from Syria

18 Meanwhile the garrison in the citadel kept hemming Israel in around the sanctuary. They were trying in every way to harm them and strengthen the Gentiles. ¹⁹Judas therefore resolved to destroy them, and assembled all the people to besiege them. ²⁰They gathered together and besieged the citadel^* in the one hundred and fiftieth year;^* and he built siege-towers and other engines of war. ²¹But some of the garrison escaped from the siege and some of the ungodly Israelites joined them. ²²They went to the king and said, ‘How long will you fail to do justice and to avenge our kindred? ²³We were happy to serve your father, to live by what he said, and to follow his commands. ²⁴For this reason the sons of our people besieged the citadel^* and became hostile to us; moreover, they have put to death as many of us as they have caught, and they have seized our inheritances. ²⁵It is not against us alone that they have stretched out their hands; they have also attacked all the lands on their borders. ²⁶And see, today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to take it; they have fortified both the sanctuary and Beth-zur; ²⁷unless you quickly prevent them, they will do still greater things, and you will not be able to stop them.’

28 The king was enraged when he heard this. He assembled all his Friends, the commanders of his forces and those in authority.^{* 29}Mercenary forces also came to him from other kingdoms and from islands of the seas. ³⁰The number of his forces was one hundred thousand foot-soldiers, twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants accustomed to war. ³¹They came through Idumea and encamped against Beth-zur, and for many days they fought and built engines of war; but the Jews^* sallied out and burned these with fire, and fought courageously.

The Battle at Beth-zechariah

32 Then Judas marched away from the citadel and encamped at Beth-zechariah, opposite the camp of the king. ³³Early in the morning the king set out and took his army by a forced march along the road to Beth-zechariah, and his troops made ready for battle and sounded their trumpets. ³⁴They offered the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries, to arouse them for battle. ³⁵They distributed the animals among the phalanxes; with each elephant they stationed a thousand men armed with coats of mail, and with brass helmets on their heads; and five hundred picked horsemen were assigned to each beast. ³⁶These took their position beforehand wherever the animal was; wherever it went, they went with it, and they never left it. ³⁷On the elephants^* were wooden towers, strong and covered; they were fastened on each animal by special harness, and on each were four^* armed men who fought from there, and also its Indian driver. ³⁸The rest of the cavalry were stationed on either side, on the two flanks of the army, to harass the enemy while being themselves protected by the phalanxes. ³⁹When the sun shone on the shields of gold and brass, the hills were ablaze with them and gleamed like flaming torches.

40 Now a part of the king’s army was spread out on the high hills, and some troops were on the plain, and they advanced steadily and in good order. ⁴¹All who heard the noise made by their multitude, by the marching of the multitude and the clanking of their arms, trembled, for the army was very large and strong. ⁴²But Judas and his army advanced to the battle, and six hundred of the king’s army fell. ⁴³Now Eleazar, called Avaran, saw that one of the animals was equipped with royal armour. It was taller than all the others, and he supposed that the king was on it. ⁴⁴So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. ⁴⁵He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it; he killed men right and left, and they parted before him on both sides. ⁴⁶He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it; but it fell to the ground upon him and he died. ⁴⁷When the Jews^* saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the forces, they turned away in flight.

The Siege of the Temple

48 The soldiers of the king’s army went up to Jerusalem against them, and the king encamped in Judea and at Mount Zion. ⁴⁹He made peace with the people of Beth-zur, and they evacuated the town because they had no provisions there to withstand a siege, since it was a sabbatical year for the land. ⁵⁰So the king took Beth-zur and stationed a guard there to hold it. ⁵¹Then he encamped before the sanctuary for many days. He set up siege-towers, engines of war to throw fire and stones, machines to shoot arrows, and catapults. ⁵²The Jews^* also made engines of war to match theirs, and fought for many days. ⁵³But they had no food in storage,^* because it was the seventh year; those who had found safety in Judea from the Gentiles had consumed the last of the stores. ⁵⁴Only a few men were left in the sanctuary; the rest scattered to their own homes, for the famine proved too much for them.

Syria Offers Terms

55 Then Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus while still living had appointed to bring up his son Antiochus to be king, ⁵⁶had returned from Persia and Media with the forces that had gone with the king, and that he was trying to seize control of the government. ⁵⁷So he quickly gave orders to withdraw, and said to the king, to the commanders of the forces, and to the troops, ‘Daily we grow weaker, our food supply is scant, the place against which we are fighting is strong, and the affairs of the kingdom press urgently on us. ⁵⁸Now then, let us come to terms with these people, and make peace with them and with all their nation. ⁵⁹Let us agree to let them live by their laws as they did before; for it was on account of their laws that we abolished that they became angry and did all these things.’

60 The speech pleased the king and the commanders, and he sent to the Jews^* an offer of peace, and they accepted it. ⁶¹So the king and the commanders gave them their oath. On these conditions the Jews^* evacuated the stronghold. ⁶²But when the king entered Mount Zion and saw what a strong fortress the place was, he broke the oath he had sworn and gave orders to tear down the wall all round. ⁶³Then he set off in haste and returned to Antioch. He found Philip in control of the city, but he fought against him, and took the city by force.